Gold Watch Baby!!! My First

JimDon

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I hit an antiques mall on my way to the thrift store. They had tons of stuff in cases. I saw a collection of watches and asked to see the bin. Most were modern but this Tavannes was in the mix. I immediately saw the very tiny squirrel hallmark on the side of the watch near the crown and knew it was 14 karat gold Swiss! $25 with 10% off. I can't wait to get it home and see if I can get it running again as I love the watch. ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1452365515.624655.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1452365527.798624.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1452365540.137798.jpg
 

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artslinger

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Jul 19, 2015
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Definitely a real beauty! Vintage watches are truly beautiful, elegant, classy. That is a very, very nice one! Congratulations!

RJA
 

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JimDon

JimDon

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Got it open and saw these markings. 14kt Is confirmed and it is 2.7g. Movement seems to be in working order. I gave it a dip in lighter fluid and it seems to run but needs a good cleaning to keep it running consistent. ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1452372284.602812.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1452372297.554824.jpg
 

SCpicker

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Wow! Amazing! Just like anything occasionally gold watches are overlooked or missed. Especially if they don't have the typical gold hallmarks. Is just the watch gold?
 

tamrock

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Nice score.. I haven't seen a overlooked men's gold case in a while now.
 

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JimDon

JimDon

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Wow! Amazing! Just like anything occasionally gold watches are overlooked or missed. Especially if they don't have the typical gold hallmarks. Is just the watch gold?

The band was gold filled. Thanks for commenting.
 

diggummup

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I haven't found a complete gold watch yet. I found a Rolex crocodile band with a gold clasp once. I found a 14k gold backplate to a wristwatch once. I've found sterling bands, many gold filled ones too, but the elusive solid gold watch has yet to be tagged and bagged.
 

Beans

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What does dipping it in lighter fluid do for it?
 

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JimDon

JimDon

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What does dipping it in lighter fluid do for it?

it's a good solvent to get rid of the caked oil. The watch is now running but only when it's upside down. I had it run overnight which it didn't do before I gave it a lighter fluid dip.
 

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JimDon

JimDon

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I haven't found a complete gold watch yet. I found a Rolex crocodile band with a gold clasp once. I found a 14k gold backplate to a wristwatch once. I've found sterling bands, many gold filled ones too, but the elusive solid gold watch has yet to be tagged and bagged.

I thought it would never happen for me. I never expected to find it in an antiques mall with experienced staff.
 

SCpicker

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JimDon you have a great eye for gold and silver. Check out this one that I bought a few months ago. It had a junky 5 jewel seiko quartz watch in a super heavy 14k band(hallmarked twice)! Almost everyone thought it was fake! I still didn't get it cheap though lol. I missed out on one that was heavier a couple of years ago when I was a rookie. I thought no way would someone put a cheap watch in a gold band! Live and learn. I'm sure there's more out there!
 

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JimDon

JimDon

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May 6, 2009
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Minelab Etrac, Minelab Excalibur, White's MXT
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Very nice score. Be careful about talking about gold seiko watches or you will let the cat out of the bag. Lol
 

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